A vehicle typically includes a steering wheel designated for an operator occupant of the vehicle to allow the operator occupant to control the direction of travel of the vehicle. The steering wheel sometimes includes a heating element that can provide heat to an external surface of the steering wheel, which warms the hands of the operator occupant, thereby increasing comfort. The operator occupant typically has to activate and deactivate manually the heating element via buttons or dials, inconvenient for the operator occupant.